ESR Cayman which announced plans to acquire ARA Asset Management on Aug 4, announced on Aug 16, it has entered into an agreement to launch its latest logistics development platform in China, (ESR China Development Platform (ECDP), with Dutch pension fund asset manager APG Asset Management (APG) and another global institutional investor. ECDP, with an initial equity commitment of US$1 billion, provides the potential investment capacity of up to US$4 billion over time.
ECDP focuses on a continuation of ESR’s strategy to develop and own modern, institutional-grade logistics facilities in major logistics hubs across China with a focus on Tier 1 and Tier 1.5 cities.
See also: Why ESR Cayman is acquiring ARA at multiples of NAV
Jeffrey Shen and Stuart Gibson, Co-founders and Co-CEOs of ESR, said: “Capital partner support has been key to the growth of ESR’s new economy real estate platform. We are thrilled to extend ESR’s successful collaboration and close relationship with these two leading institutional investors, with whom ESR has already delivered strong results in China and across the Asia Pacific region.
“The acceleration of e-commerce continues to drive growth in China’s logistics market. What’s more, structural shifts in supply chain management, and consumers’ shopping habits and lifestyle changes are reshaping the market. These trends are opening new development and investment opportunities to ESR and our capital partners as the demand for advanced, large-scale and well-located logistics assets becomes even greater.”